How to get out of the closet

The workshop was one of the less crowded places on the base. The handful of persons who regularly came to work there all kept their own chaotic schedules, and on the rare occasions they coincided on it, everyone would mind their own business and work on their own projects. However, lately a certain person had been dropping by. Sledge was one of the last persons Jäger would imagine to have any interest in engineering work, but for the last week he'd been popping in at random intervals, stopping to chat with Mute and Jäger as they worked, and even asking him questions about his current project. Jäger wasn't sure Sledge actually understood half of his explanations, but it was a nice change to have someone listen to him attentively as he ranted about his projects.

Today however he came in while Jäger was all alone, working on his magpies. Contrary to his usual behaviour, Sledge didn't even say hello, he just looked around the workshop, bent down and obviously searching something. What was Sledge was looking for, it was anybody's guess. Especially because when people searched the shelves for something, usually they didn't check under it. Then Sledge approached him with a worried frown and Jäger nearly dropped the screwdriver he was holding. Feeling short was unusual for him. It left a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. Or perhaps that was because of the person in front of him, the imposingly tall and broad Scottish operator who's ass Jäger definitely hadn't been ogling just a few seconds ago.

"Have you seen a hamster?" Of all the possible scenarios, this wasn't one Jäger would have predicted.

He stared at Sledge, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water while trying to gauge whether he was being made fun of or not. Sledge did appear to be asking seriously. Besides, the Scott wasn't one to prank others, much less with such ridiculous excuses.

"Hamster?" Jäger eventually managed to say, getting tongue tied and unable to string words together when faced with Sledge.

"Yes, Grace is so distraught since it disappeared. We're scouring the whole base in search of it."

A perfectly reasonable explanation, and yet Jäger had no idea Dokkaebi had a hamster. At least he hadn't blurted "Who's Grace?" because that would have been embarrassing. He could imagine she'd be worried though, hamsters were so small and squishy, anything could have happened to it. Or it could have escaped through one of the open windows. Hamsters could get anywhere, like Twitch's drone. Hm, could he create a smaller, mobile magpie maybe? Something to investigate.

Sledge politely cleared his throat and Jäger realized he spaced out without answering him. "Uh, no? Haven't seen it."

"It was a long shot anyway. Thanks Marius."

The strange butterfly-like sensation in his stomach intensified when Sledge said his name. A sudden idea popped in his mind, keen to stay in Sledge's company for a little longer.

"I could help you! Make a trap to catch the hamster," he offered. "I only need a bucket and some food."

"That would be brilliant," Sledge said and Jäger nearly beamed at him, like he was the one doing Jäger a favour.

He was pretty sure there was an old metal bucket in the storage room, and he told so to Sledge as he looked for the key. If Fuze had misplaced it again he was going to kill him. But no, the Uzbek was innocent in this case, Jäger had simply been searching in the wrong drawer. The key was big and old, just like the contents of the workshop's so called storage room. In fact it was nothing more than a glorified broom closet, full of broken knick-knacks and old tools. And dust, lots of dust.

Leaving the key on the keyhole, Jäger started moving junk around in the hopes of locating the damn bucket. How did they end up keeping so much crap in here? He was sure he'd seen one last time he opened the storage. Sledge came to help him search, and he looked even more ridiculously tall in the small space of the oversized closet. He was almost filling up all the space available, the one not occupied by shelves or Jäger himself, that is. A strong gust of wind came through the windows, making the door sway before it close all of sudden. With them still inside the small storage. And with the key sitting on the keyhole, on the outside.

"Fuck." Jäger summed up the situation with a single word.

As Sledge soon discovered, the main problem was the lack of a handle on this side, making it impossible to open the door. Being totally honest, it wasn't the first time some poor soul got accidentally locked inside, but since it had never happened personally to Jäger he always thought Twitch and IQ were exaggerating how easily it could happen.

"Don't tell me we're trapped," Sledge obviously meant it to be a joke, but Jäger made a distressed noise because it was the damn truth.

A shadow of concern flitted over Sledge's face as he realised their situation. He advised Jäger to stay away before trying to kick the door down. But it did not work, the hinges stubbornly resisted in their place. And the metal door wouldn't break, of course. The total darkness and the reduced space were suffocating Jäger, who did not like cramped spaces. Some would think it was not that different from piloting a helicopter, but it was. When he piloted he had control over the situation, unlike here. This was more like being trapped inside a tank. He tried moving and something metallic dug uncomfortably on his back. He moved his other arm and he hit an indeterminate object, which fell to the floor with a loud clang. Jäger did not whimper in frustration, but he was not having a good time. In the dark, with the walls closing in on him, collapsing over him.

"Are you alright?" Sledge, who was calm like this was nothing out of the ordinary, noticed Jäger's agitated breathing.

"Fine! I'm fine. I just don't like closed dark spaces," Jäger explained in a forced light-hearted voice. He could panic silently and on his own, no need to alarm Sledge and make an ass of himself in the process.

However the Scott noticed Jäger wasn't fine. He took out his cell phone from the pocket, the faint light of the home screen illuminating the cramped room. "No bloody signal? Oh, come on!"

Jäger took a deep breath. He was fine, everything was fine. Not. Thanks to the glow of the phone's screen he could now see the obstacles in his way, and he used to opportunity to scoot closer to Sledge. Being closer to another person made him feel slightly better. Sledge left his phone on the shelf to act as a feeble light source, and put a hand on his shoulder, solid and warm and reassuring. That felt nice. Jäger leant into it, grounding himself in the touch instead of letting his mind trick him into panicking. He still needed something to distract himself with, though.

"Why are you on the workshop so often lately?" He realised that could sound accusing, so Jäger tried explain himself. "I mean, you usually just bludgeon things with your hammer, it's not like you need to..."

"I just like to see you work and spend time with you." Sledge's answer was unexpectedly frank, cutting him mid rant.

"Oh."

That was good, wasn't it? Because Jäger also liked to spend time with him, even when Sledge distracted him with questions as he worked. No, wait, that did sound wrong. Sledge's warm hand was still on his shoulder, the thumb rubbing soothing circles over his shirt, and it was incredibly distracting. So Jäger felt justified in his mental stumble.

"I also like spending time with you," Jäger said slowly, working through what he wanted to say before speaking. "And I'm glad if I had to get trapped in this closet with someone, it was with you."

That did get a chuckle out of Sledge. He opened his mouth to ask what was so funny, but Sledge came closer and silenced him with a kiss. It was brief and sweet and it left Jäger dumbstruck. When Sledge pulled away to check if Jäger was alright with it, Jäger immediately missed the feeling of Seamus' lips against his own. Despite the difficulty of moving in the cramped space, Jäger managed to position himself in front of Sledge to kiss him again, throwing his arms around his neck to support himself since he had to stand on tiptoes.

Without a second of hesitation, Sledge wrapped his arms around his waist, steadying Jäger and bringing him even closer. He also slid a thigh between Jäger's legs, which made the German realize how affected he was by just kissing Seamus. Jäger also discovered that being horny was like a magical switch that took away any anxiety he still had about being trapped in there. Now all he could think about was how his dick twitched every time Sledge nibbled his lower lip. Nor could he hold back a moan when Sledge's tongue explored his mouth, teasing and wonderful and leaving Jäger hungry for more.

Jäger's hands went to Sledge's belt, slipping under his T-shirt and raking up his toned stomach in delighted wonder. On his part, Sledge's hands were currently exploring Jäger's back and making a slow descent towards his ass. He kissed Jäger again, slow and teasing, which wrenched a needy moan of complain from Jäger. They both froze for a moment, clearly considering their situation. Were they really going to do this, trapped in a closet like horny teenagers? Jäger broke the stalemate by pressing his crotch firmly against Sledge's powerful thigh. It was impossible for Sledge to not notice how hard he was. Following up with what he'd been doing, Jäger hurriedly undid Sledge's belt with slightly trembling hands.

"Alright luv, two can play this game," Sledge whispered, his hot breath washing over Jäger in the reduced space.

He unzipped Jäger's pants and put his scorching hot hands on him, touching him through the boxers, gripping his growing erection but without granting him yet the relief of skin to skin contact. Jäger retaliated taking Sledge's underwear down just enough to expose his hard cock. Even in the unflattering glow of the nearby cell phone, his dick looked mouth-wateringly thick and long. There mere idea of being fucked by it –maybe later– sent Jäger into a frenzy. He would have bent down to take it into his mouth, but the lack of space and Sledge finally gripping his cock quickly made him change his mind. Jäger started to pump his cock at a fast pace, and Sledge responded by finally slipping his hand inside his underwear to jerk him off. He dragged his thumb across the slit, collecting droplets of precum and smearing it over the sensitive head. Sledge's breath faltered and Jäger was sure he heard him groan. Jäger's remaining composure snapped when Sledge's touch became rougher, tighter around his pulsing shaft. Jäger panted like he'd been running, eyes closed and mouth open in bliss as they worked each other towards completion. Both their movements became rushed and less controlled as they neared their peak. Jäger moaned when he reached his climax, hips stuttering and fucking Sledge's fist hold as he rode the shock of pleasure washing over him. He heard Sledge moan low on his throat and then a sticky warmth dribbled over his hand.

They were still recovering their breath and leaning onto each other when the sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door, getting louder as if someone was coming near the door of the storage. Jäger struggled to get decent and scramble away from Sledge, otherwise he would fall flat on his back once the door was opened, and Sledge hurriedly tucked himself back into his pants before he hit the door with his hand.

"We're here!"

A heartbeat passed and then the door opened, the sudden rush of light blinding them after being used to the barely illuminated darkness. Echo stood in front of them looking confused. Jäger thanked him and then rushed past the Japanese, making a beeline for the station where he had been working before.

On his part, Sledge grabbed his phone from the shelf and flashed Echo a smile, pretending nothing was amiss. "Thank you, it was cramped in there."

"..." Echo stared at him and Sledge absolutely did not think about what sort of evidence could be visible on him.

He strode to the door, praying Echo would not say a word about this to anyone. His reclusive nature played in their favour, thank god, because Sledge didn't want this to become the talk of the base.

"Weren't you going to help me find Grace's hamster, Marius?"

For a second Jäger looked at him as confused as Echo, but then realized it was just an excuse to get the hell away from there and latched onto the idea like a drowning man catches a rescue rope.

"Coming Seamus!"

"But I..." Echo tried to speak, however Jäger hurried after Sledge and left Echo alone in the workshop. "I already found it."

Little did Echo know that looking for the blasted hamster was the furthest thing from their minds.